Writing A Conference Proposal

1. Writing A Conference Proposal FRD17@pitt.edu

2. Pick the Topic • Based on your experience: What is something you are doing that you want to share with other educators? • Are you adding something new to the body of pedagogical or content knowledge?

3. Your Audience (NCTM choices)

4. Make an Outline • Make a brief outline of what you intend to talk about • What are your learning goals for the participants? • What do you want the participants to do so that they are active learners in your session?

5. The proposal Depending on who is holding the conference, the style for these varies. Some are very detailed. There will be an FAQ for the proposal system that you should read before you do anything in the proposal system. The host organization will also have posted Proposal Review Criteria that you need to understand.

6. Your First Choice What type of presentation do you want to have? nctm.org

7. Presentation Types • Session – generally 45 – 60 minutes. • Frequently in a theater setting. Some conferences have a classroom setting • May be a larger room than other session types • Allows you to share information in a lecture format. You can share several ideas or do a deep dive into one major idea • The sequence of lessons I used to teach about quadratics • The big picture of ways I use technology to address equity issues in my classroom • Overview of my work on social justice issues • Behind the scenes mathematics of game shows

8. Presentation Types • Workshop– generally 75 – 90 minutes. • Participants at tables, usually 8 -12 people • There may be the option for a Gallery Workshop where people can be at the tables or sit on the side • Participants take part in hands-on activities • A specific topic you have taught in which the participants do the activities as students • This may include technology, but be aware that some conferences do not supply free internet connections.

9. Presentation Types • Burst– generally 30 minutes. • Participants at tables • Participants take part one hands-on activity • You share one brief topic • Be a Superhero – student motivation system • How I have used formative assessment to improve my practice

10. The Title • There is a character limit. NCTM uses 100 characters including spaces • Be concise and get your point across • Be original – Get their attention! • You’ve Lost Those Boring Problems • Three Problem Types for Differentiating Instruction

11. The Description • This is where participants will decide whether to attend your presentation or not. • Character limits (usually about 500 characters) • Be as specific as you can be. Let the audience know how they will be engaged in your presentation.

12. The Description Learn about three effective techniques to adapt tasks in order to increase access for all students and to enable students to acquire and demonstrate conceptual understanding. Practice using Reversibility, Flexibility, and Generalization on our tasks, and then use them in rewriting tasks of your own.

13. The Description Avoid: “The purpose of this session is to …” “Join us for fun as we …” “I will be showing how to …” You have limited characters – don’t waste them on setting the stage.

14. The Goals This may be called “participant learning” or “objectives for the session” or something that asks you to specify what you want the participants to walk away with. This is VERY important for the reviewers. Your description is very brief, so here you have space to explain what you are trying to convey. You may have 1000 characters (or more!).

15. The Goals If you are doing a presentation at a mathematics conference, you need to specifically address mathematics content in some way. A content presentation makes this easy. A pedagogy session needs to make clear how the pedagogy involved is useful in a mathematics classroom, department, or program.

16. The Goals NCTM requires proposals to state how equity and access are part of the presentation. If there is not a special session for this, list this in your objectives/goals.

17. Topics You may be asked to choose from a list of topics the one for which you presentation is the best fit.

18. Topics NCTM – Seattle 2018

19. NCTM NCTM proposal links for 2019Fall Regionals will be open in August/September Boston – September 25-27, 2019 Nashville – October 2 – 4, 2019 Salt Lake City – October 16 – 18, 2019 NCTM proposal links for the 2020 Annual Meeting will be available in 2019. The proposal links for the 2019 Annual Meeting in San Diego are closed. Chicago – Spring Saint Louis - Fall

20. REgionals

21. REgionals

22. Final Advice Have several people read your proposal before you submit it. Grammar counts! If you have permission to share student work, participants love to see how students think.

23. NCTM 2018 - 2019 Hartford, CT October 4 -6, 2018 Kansas City, MO November 1 -3, 2018 Seattle, WA November 28 -30, 2018 Annual Meeting – San Diego, CA April 3 -6, 2019

24. Mathematics Education Trust (MET) Grants • Deadline: Nov 02, 2018 • Future Leader Initial NCTM Annual Meeting Attendance Awards • Grants of up to $1,500 + meeting registration are provided for travel, subsistence expenses, and substitute teacher costs of NCTM members who  are classroom mathematics teachers in grades Pre-K–12 and have never attended an NCTM annual meeting.